“Are you still a believer?” – That’s a question I get commonly asked nowadays when meeting people in the blockchain space. The massive crash of the entire cryptomarket fuels fear, not only to the general retail investor but also within the blockchain space itself. Be it developers, token engineers or all the others involved in one of the many blockchain projects out there. Most of us are raising the same question: Are we still heading into the right direction? What has happened and what can we learn to progress? From inflated expectations back to reality To get a clearer … Read More

As part of the Make-IT Alliance, an Initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) together with GIZ, the betterplace lab, a think tank based in Berlin, is conducting a scouting mission in 6 African countries (Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda and Tunisia) focusing on digital innovations and exciting business models. We believe that digital entrepreneurship is a driver of digital change in Africa. Tech entrepreneurs have the potential to modernise the economies and societies of their countries, discover innovative solutions to development challenges, and create new perspectives. Who are we looking for? We are specifically looking to meet … Read More

One of the key principles that is shifting production practices in relation to textiles is transparency. It brings to light the social and economic impact of what is hanging in our closet and even tells us the story of how it got there.HOW?

Tomas Björkman is an entrepreneur-turned-philanthropist who believes that we need a more conscious society to tackle our current challenges. Joana Breidenbach met him at his CoCreation Loft in Berlin to talk to him about what this means for leadership. We are living in exciting yet challenging times. With our economic and political systems in crisis, we are faced with the need of an institutional renewal, which takes better care of the health of the planet and its citizens. In many places, we see promising signs for the necessary systems change, such as the rise of the regenerative economy and new … Read More

Alice Grindhammer belongs to a new generation motivated by the potential of positive change. “I always believed in business as a force for good. That’s why I studied finance. I really wanted to understand how we can create an economy which serves nature and humans.”Read on, my dear

Baratang Miya is the founder of Girlhype, an initiative based in Cape Town, South Africa, that empowers women to code. Through this initiative, many girls get the chance to come into contact with coding.Read on, my dear

Does 3D-printing fundamentally change the world? What is the potential of this technology in the social field? We talked to Andrew Lamb, who experiences how this technology is empowering people around the world on a daily basis. With the organisation Field Ready, Andrew and his crew are taking their technology to disaster areas all over the world und use 3D printing technology to produce essential spare parts in disaster areas or in remote, unstable locations. This makes them able to help much faster than many other technology providers, because all they need is a 3D printer and power access. With it, … Read More

With our new project DSISCALE, we work with six other organisations from five EU countries to promote the expansion of digital social innovation in all of Europe. We want to show how to positively participate in societal processes on a local as well as European level through digital social innovations.HOW?

Over one hundred digital projects emerged in Germany in 2015-16 with the aim of supporting refugees. In this study we ask what became of these projects, and what the potential of innovative approaches is for refugee integration.

Drones, 3D printers and digital currencies are already changing how we live. But what will 2030 look like? In our magazine we take a look at the future of the technologies and how they can make our world better.Browse!

The internet empowers the people who have access to it. Women are particularly affected by the digital divide, worldwide they are 12 per cent less likely to be connected than men. That needs to be changed! But how? Our study describes reasons for the barriers and provides solutions to overcome them.More women online!

For the first time ever: an 18-month learning program for NGOs on the topics of storytelling, campaigning and advocacy. The goal: in 2017, with a federal election coming, to have an influence on politics with the right messages.Have a browse!

Comparative online fundraising performance at a glance? Only the NGO-Meter can do that. Invest ten minutes in the new survey and alongside exclusive findings, you also score the practical online fundraising handbook!Have a look!

In the face of digital technologies: how can we shape our future for the benefit of civil society? We get to the bottom of this question with industry professionals and experts in our Lunchtime Conversations, and provide you not just with five star food for thought, but also great recipes.Bon Appetit!

What do people in the social sector think about data privacy? And what is their concept of transparency? Do perspectives differ between different groups and countries? For the Mozilla Foundation, we surveyed people from five different countries about their activity on the net.Have a read!

This market is very special: there are no products that you can buy, no customers or producers in the classical sense of the terms. Nevertheless we’re talking about at least seven billion Euros annually. What’s going on there?Explore!

The Internet of Things in development cooperations? It’s been going on for ages. In a study from the GIZ, we have identified the important factors for further tapping the potential of the IoT.Have a browse!

Even in India, Tanzania and Ghana, information and communications technology (ICT) is making life easier for large numbers of people. We have researched innovations in healthcare and agriculture and written two reports about them.Have a read!

As part of the lab around the world, our team has travelled twice around the globe to track down innovations in particularly dynamic countries. We drank coffee with bloggers in China, spoke with hackers in Rwanda and interviewed social entrepreneurs in Colombia.Setting Sail!

Innovative technologies make it easier than ever to improve the world. At our annual conference, the betterplace labtogether, since 2012 we have been setting ourselves the exciting challenge of reinventing the future.Be inspired!